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v R. STANLEY.

I v.TUIINELING 0R MINING IsILAGHINL. i No. 504,180. Patented Aug.29, 1893.

W mi j WMM/u00e0 @www " UNITED STATES PATENT Genion..

REGINALD STANLEY, OF NUNEATON, ENGLAND.

TuNNELINe R MINING MACHINE.

SPECIFICATION formingpart of Letters Patent No. 504,180, dated August 29, 1,893.

Original application tiled September 5, 1890, Serial No. 364,060. Divided and this applicationiiled July 7, 1891. Serial No. 398,690. (No model.) Patented in England February 28, 1890, No. 3,595 I in New South Wales J une 27, 1891, No. 3,082 I in Queensland .Tune 29, 1891,1To. 1,363; in New Zealand July 6,1891,No.5,078; in Canada December 16, 1891,1I0. 37,971, and in Germany February 5, 1892, 110,160,237.

'To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, REGINALD STANLEY, al citizen o1- Great Britain, residing at Nuneaton, in the county of Warwick, England, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Tunneling or Mining Machines, (which improvements are shown and described in the following Letters Patent, to wit: in Patent No. 60,237, dated February 5,1892, granted to me in Germany; No. 3,595, dated February 28, 1890, granted in Great Britain; No. 1,363, dated June 29, 1891, granted in Queensland;

' No. 5,078, dated July G, 1891, granted in New cutters, means for connecting the two parts of said frame, two carriers, one for each of said sets of cutters and adapted to be moved relatively to the bed, a train of cutter actuating gearing on each part of said frame; an-

' other train of gearing on each part of the bed frame for advancing thecutters relatively to the bed, and one or more engines supported .upon the bed frame and adapted to actuate either of said sets of cutters, or both simultaneously. Preferably the cutters of each set are arranged to rotate around a horizontal vertical-ly.

axis and are held by arms-secured to their carrier. It is also preferable that the'two sets of cutters shouldbe arranged on substantially the same horizontal lines, transverse of the machine, so that they shall be available for producing a relatively wide cut. There are numerous reasons'whyacut of this sort should be of greater dimensions horizontally than For instance, in the entries in coal mines it is allowable, and necessary in most veins to have them from nine to twelve feet wide. In a siX foot vein a single set of cutters of the sort herein described, whie it may reach from top to bottom of the vein, will not open up more than half or two thirds of the entry horizontally and another operation by hand or machine is necessary. It is desirable to take the material out from the whole entry atone operation. In the smaller veins the room is so contracted, if a single cutting apparatus is used, that it is impossible to readily manipulate the machine and get out the cuttings and remove them to points behind the machine. f

With an apparatus of the sort herein provided I cannot only work over a larger area of the the heading but with it can provide more room for the manipulation of the machine and of the materials removed thereby. Again, whatever be the depth of the machine, or the dimensions of the cut made by it, it is frequently found necessary to apply hand tools, of the nature of levers, wedges, drills, orrthe like, for the purpose of removing the central core left by the cutters. By forming two grooves or cuts, either overlapping or in" dependent of each other, I am enabled to apply to greater advantage tools of the sort referred to, and can more easily attack, break down, and remove any coal or other material which may resist the operation of the cutters on the machine, or which may be lett as vthe core. v

Another important advantage incident4V to having two sets o'f more or less independent cutters, one of which can be thrown out of operation whilethe other is acting, is this, namely, that the'two cutters can be employed alternately; that is to say a cut may be made with one of them, andy then while the other cutter is being advanced, the core and debris machines of all sorts, one ofthe most dinicult problems has been to construct and arrange the parts so that there should be no re-actionary thrust, either in a line directly backward or toward one side, or the other horizontally, or upward or downward. Such thrust, and the disadvantageous strains incident thereto, have been experienced in using all machines provided with a single cutter or set of cutters. By furnishing the machine with two sets of oppositely moving cutters, as are herein provided, I, toV a large extent, overcome. the difficulties which have been incident to other machinesfrom`- this cause.

I am aware of the fact that machines have been heretofore devised comprising two sets Qjf, oppositely moving. chain cutters, mounted 'to. 1nove on` horizontal lines, and; also aware that two sets ofoppositely reciprocatingsaw cutters have been used, in horizontal lines, and I donot claim such mechanisms. B utI believe myself` to be thetirst to havearrangedl two` verticallyrevolvingcutters so as to move oppositely. and simultaneously and produce a kerf of such dimensionsthattheentire ma-` chinecan follow the cutters.

Figure I is a top plan v iewof; a machine` embodying my invention. Fig. 2. is a side elevation. Ifig.. 3 is a front view ot the ma-L chinewith, the cutter detached. Fig. 4 is a rear view. Figs. land; 6. are sections. on the lines orf-m. and y-y respectively, and.- Eig. 7 isfya face view` ofthe cutters.

rlhe main trameor bed` as shown in theidrawings comprises two l vertically arrangedY parts A, Af, at. the` sidesgand-` horizontally arranged connecting parts. The details of the bed frame may beef anysuitablesort. Asshown in the drawings each` side part is composed of uprights a, a joined atthe bottom by sills d2 and at the top by girders a3, together with any additional connecting, bars and 'braces which may be found desirable.

A2, A2, are supporting wheels. Preferably there are two on, each sidearrauged on the central longitudinal plane ot"cachv partA, Af of. the frame.

A4, A4, arebindingscrews or jacks for` en,-

gaging, the roofand fastening'` the machine V D. With this `engages apinion D on a coun- `tershaft E, On saidshaftthere is a` wheel D2 firmly1 in position.

I-I, II, represent cross barsv arranged substantially. horizontallylandv rigidlysecured, by boltsor equivalents to the, side partsV A, A',

of the frame, and` near the bottom thereof.

I-l, H', are other connecting. bars secured to the side part-snearer the centershorizontally, thereof, and H2 are cross connecting bars or braces at the top.

In the present machine the twosets ot cutting mechanisms and, other operativeparts, are, providedwith a commonv frameA orbed whose partsare.V rigidly secured throughout, ini contradistinction from` other double tunnel cutting machines which I have devised, (as shown in my application, Serial` No. 364,060, filed September 5, 1890, of which this is a division) and wherein the two side` parts with their cutting and other; apparatus were adapted to be moved or adjusted relatively to each other, so that when I use the word rigidly in connection with the securing together of the dierent partsI mean that the parts are bolted, or non-adj ustably'secured, together.

By preference most of the parts of the frame or bed which I have above described are made of angle irons because of the relatively greater strength incident thereto in proportion to the weight.

The cuttngnnechanisms mounted uponthis frame` maybe of suitable sort. That se- 1lected for illustration comprisesa cutter carrier of the form of a cross. head orarms B secured to a shaft C. When an annular kerf is t0 be formed; forwardly extending arms. or

In addition totheannular.. cutter arm` B',

lB', I provide` other cutter armsA B2,` B2, ini Qrder to remove partei the coreleft thereby.

The' radial, arms `B,B, have apertures b2at. in-

tervals in theirtaces, into which the tongues of the auxiliary cuttersare securedby belts `orotherwise.` In the, drawings `but two auxili ary cutter armsare shown, but it isobvious that asA meer. esfeeiled` meybe used S0. eS t0 cutawaythe whole `faceot the material, As

shown, the said arms. B2, B2, are relatively widerat their front ends andhavea tapered nose or projection which cleans away the slack` in front ci: the cuttersb. It will be` seen that these cutterarms maybe readily `detached and; secured at anyY distance from the, center of the,` radialL armsfB, B, asltlienature of the material` may require, orA muyr be `left 0E entirely.` The shattCimparts rotary` motiontothe cutters` and also` advances them into the material.

As illustrated inthe drawings the two, cutting mechanisms,and the. devices which, rol tateathemandalsothosewhich advance thenr aregsimilar, and` it istherefore not necessary to describemore than one thereof.

On each cuttencarrier shaft there is awheel which engages. with` a pinion D3 on an intermediate shaft E?. A

D4 isa bevel.` Wheel on the last said shaft driven by wheel D5 on the crank shatt or engine shaft F. In this` machine the crank `shatt orpower shaft isarranged transversely of themachineand it is,connected directly to both sets ot cutter driving gearing. By employing` a singlepower shaft a single` engine G only is required to` operate both cutters. A double, acting engineis shown having two cylinders and two pistons both connected to d this power shaft.

A machine of this construction is well adapted for working material such as coal IOO IIO

@also on the bars H, H. The'wheel D5 is a double bevel, and is adapted to slide on its shaft F, it having a shipping lever .l for moving it into and out from engagement with wheel D4. It

` will be seen that when these wheels D4 and D5 are in engagement, the engine'will, through the above described train of gears cause the rotation of the cutters, and if both wheels D5 are in engagement with their corresponding wheels D4, both cutting mechanisms will be actuated.

In order to advance each cutting mechanism while it is at work the following means are preferably used: The cutter carrying shaft C is screw threaded along a suicient portion thereof. With this a nut cl can engage. Said nut is arranged near the rear vertical uprights of the frame, and on each side bears against a plate or 'block secured to said uprights.V It is either formed integral withv a series of gear teeth on its periphery, or is secured to a wheel having such teeth. This nut can be allowed to rotate relative to the cutter carrier, or can be locked to the bed or main frame in any suitable way, as for instance by a bolt adapted to engage with the frame and lie between two of the peripheral teeth. If while the cutter carrying shaft is rotating in the way above described this nut be thus locked it will be seen that the shaft C and the cutters will-be caused to advance with a speed proportional to the pitch of the thread andA the speed of rotation. The advancing is continued'until the desired depth of cut has been reached.

' The bed or main frame can then be advanced toward the cutters by the following devices.

K isa shaft shown to be parallel yto the shaft C, and having a bevel wheel lo at one end and a spur pinion L at the other. yW'heel k can engage with the aforesaid double bevel wheel D5 if the latter be moved along the shaft F. The pinion L engages with a wheel L on a shaft Z mounted in the rear part of the frame and carrying also a wheel M'which meshes with the aforesaid teeth on the nut d. Now if it be supposed that the cutter shafts C have been made stationary, and the bed or gearing) in such way as to turn th-e nuts d,d,

which will result in apushing forward of the bed or frame. The cutters and their shafts may be made -stationary in any suitable way as for instance by means of cows and braces such aslhave shown in my earlier patents. One adapted for this purpose is shown at U.

At N, N, there are jacks or braces near the central longitudinal line of the machine adapted to engage with the bottom of the tunnel and resist reaction or back thrust and assist in holding the machine to its work. In addition to these use may be made of bracing wedges such as are shown in my application, Serial No. 383,645, led March 3. 1891.

It will now be seen thatI provide a machine which is not only capable of cutting a double tunnel or driving two tunnels simultaneously, but one which does this by two entirely independent cutting mechanisms; that is to say cutting mechanisms which can be either started or stopped independently of each other. Theindependent clutches orshipping devices enable me to throw either or both of the cutters into or out of action. It is sometimes desirable to throw all of the power of the engine upon one of the cutters, as for instance when it is meeting unusually hard material. This can be accomplished by having the parts constructed and arranged as de-Y cutter can be made stationary and the main frame can be moved in either direction by giving proper motion to the driving parts.

The supporting wheels AAZ, are each held in vertically adjustable bearings 0.4 which can be moved up or down by means of screws 0.5. By means of these devices-the direction of the tunnel, in respect to vertical planes, can be modified readily at any time; and such variation of this direction is rendered frequently necessary when working materials which lie in variable veins, and over or under which run veins ofvslate or other excessivelyhard materials. And when a frame-work is used such as is herein shown, namely one having the two parts at the side wherein the cutter carriers are respectively supported, and an intermediate part rigidlysecured to the said parts, the whole forming a solid, unitary structure, the devices above described permit the proper adjusting of the machine not only about transverse lines, but also about longitudinal lines. That is to say the machine can lbe bodily rocked laterally and at the same time the front end can be thrown up or down as may be required. Therefore all variations of the coal vein from a horizontal plane can IOO be readily followed. The frame is virtually carried upon adjustable pivotal supports at the front end and has, (in the wheels and the.`

parts there may be more or less variation so` long as the essential matters of construction and operation are preserved.

It will be seen that there are a number of features of construction and arrangement incident to the cutter, its carrier, its gearing, dac., and to the part of the main frame that supports it, which are independentA of the duplicating of the cutting mechanisms, `and which, in fact, constitute material and im portant improvements in machines of this sort.

In many of the tunneling machines as heretofore constructed, in which` the cutter and cutter carrier, Were adapted to advance longitudinally relative to the frame, the power shaft, andmore or less of the engine parts and the intermediate gearing and shafting, were supported in the, upper part of the frame, above the horizontal planes of the cuttercarrier. Under such construction and. arrangement of the parts, the machine ismade top heavy, and therefore, difficult to manipulate and it requiresat the topand thesides strong and numerous-braces. Again, by having the engines arranged vertically, as` heretofore,

with more or lessof their incident parts i n l the upper part of the frame the vibrations caused thereby when in motion are much more troublesome and apt to interfere with the proper workings of themachine.

If the planof constructing and arranging the. parts herein shown be followed, Whether in making singleor double machines, these difficulties areovercome. The. machine can be madeso that there shall bepracticallynone of the. moving parts above the horizontal planes ofI the cutter carrier, and by having them below that they assist in holding the frame in proper position and the vibrations and: jars are taken near the floor where they are much less serious in their effects upon the machine. I do not limit myself tothe exact arrangement shown in this respect, as the end aimedat canbe attained so long as the weighty and rapidly moving parts are brought down sufficiently far in relation to the cutter carrier. But I prefer substantially the arrangement shown by which (first) the cutter rotating shafting, the` nut rotating shafting, the power shaft, andthe engine are all placed below the top plane of the carrier Whether in a single or double machine; (second) the main intermediate shaftof the cutter rotating mech anism is put in about the same horizontal planes as the cutter carrier as it is not ordinarily practicable to place it directly beneath the cutter carrier, because of the relatively large gear wheels necessary to obtain the proper speeds; and (third) the cutter rotating gearing and shafting are placed at one end of the frame, while thenut rotating gearing and shafting are at the other end, the p OWer Shaft beingV arranged transversely between, them. This dividing of the operative parts enables me to bring the rapidly moving power. shaft comparativelynearthe center of the machine,

. and also to arrange` all 0f the partscompactly and in relatively low planes.

I do not herein claim any` of the` subjectmatters set forth in the claimsl of myl earlier application hereinbefore referred to, Serial No. 364,060, led September 5, 1890, wherein the present mechanism is shown` in connection with another for thepurpose of illustrating certain novel matters common to` both, nor do I herein claim anyof the combinations f set forthin the claimsin my application, Sel rial; No. 864,378, led September. 8, 1890, for v the reissue of Patent No. 414,893, dated November 12, 1889, preferring. to claim, therein all patentable matters which are common to gearing, the shaft atone` end` of said frame fordrivng said gearing, the nut, theshaftat the other end of said frame` for rotating. said Vnut and atransverseshaft adapted to, drive both of the aforesaid. shafts, substantially as t set forth.

2. In, a` tunneling or mining machine, the combination of a cutter, a cutter carrier, a main frame, a gearing at the. front end of said main` frame for rotating the cutter, a gearing at therear end of said frame` for ad vancingthe cutter or the frame, and a `power shaft for driving both gearings and arranged transversely of the frame andbelow the cutter carrier, substantially as set forth.

3. In a tunnelingor mining` machine, the combination of the cutter, a cutter carrier, a main frame, cutter rotating gearing, gearing for advancing the cutters or the frame, a

IOD

other on the other side thereof, the powerA shaft, and the engine, substantially as set forth.

11. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination of the cutter, the cutter carrier, the main frame extending above the cut-ter carrier, the clamping devices for securingthe frame to the roof, the nut engaging with` the cutter carrier, and the nut rotating shaft and gearing located below the cutter carrier, sub stantially as set forth.

5. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination` of a cutter, a cutter carrier, a main frame, cutter rotating gearing, gearing for advancing the cutter or the frame, a power shaft, and a sliding wheel adapted to engage with either of said gearings, substantially as set forth.

6. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination of the cutter, the cutter carrier, the main frame, a shaft for` transmitting rotary motion to the cutter, a shaft on a line,v

other than that of last said shaft for imparting longitudinal motion to the cutter or main frame, and a sliding wheel for driving said shafts and mounted on lines between the aforesaid lines, substantially as set forth.

7. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination of the two cutting mechanisms, the two longitudinally advancing cutter carrying shafts, the stationary frame having two side parts, wherein are respectively mounted the said cutter carrying shafts, and an intermediate part bolted to the aforesaid parts, substantially as set forth.

8. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination of the two independent vertically revolving cutters, the bed, the engine on the bed, the independent trains of gear for rotating the cutter carriers, the independent trains of gear for advancing the cutter carriers, and the adjustable wheels driven by the engine and adapted to engage alternately with the said two trains of gear, substantially as set forth.

9. The combination of the cutters, the cutter carriers, the transverse power shaft, the intermediate shafts situated longitudinally of the machine and above the power shaft, whereby the power shaft can be placed relatively low, and the engine situated on the rear of the main frame in the horizontal plane of the power shaft, substantially as set forth.

10. In a tunneling or mining machine, the combination of the bed, the cutter, the cutter carrier, the engine on the bed, the train of gear for rotating the cutter carrier, the train of gear for advancing the cutter carrier, and the sliding or adjustable wheel driven by the engine and adapted to engage alternately with the said two trains of gear, substantially as set forth.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in presence of two witnesses.

REGINALDSTANLEY.

Witnesses:

W. H. HARRIS,

Notary Publ/ic, Birmingham. FREDERICK BAXTER,

Birmingham, his O'Zerk. 

